Contests

Marisa O'Neil Children can overeat, get messy and make plenty of noise at the Kids Stage at the Orange County Fair. And it's all OK. Eating contests, dancing contests, hunts and all manner of fun, like Wednesday's Grapes or Bust contest, take place on the stage every day in Kids Park. "Lots of kids like to be on stage, play games and win prizes," Kids Park coordinator Erin Koenig said. And even if the connection to the fair's grape theme of "Jammin at the Fair" is sometimes tenuous at best, it doesn't squash the fun. Balloons -- tied with a string to each child's ankle -- stood in for grapes during the Grapes or Bust contest.

Congratulations to our honorable Newport Beach City Council members for their fine work to mitigate the noise and chaos that are ongoing problems for West Newport residents. I'm not referring to their attack on "drug-dealer alley" (most anywhere from 46th to 54th streets), which I believe is home to the area's most "in your face, move if you don't like it" partying. That's clearly a lifestyle and property-value issue. For sure, I'm not thinking of any neighborhood cleanup programs or elimination of aboveground utility lines and extensive tree-planting programs.

It’s what many call the perfect mash-up. The Musink convention and festival brings the world’s top tattoo artists, their fans and the bands they love to the Orange County Fairgrounds every year. Hosted by Small Paul and the Original True Tattoo, and presented by Affliction Clothing, this year’s third-annual festival will be from 2 to 11 p.m. Feb. 19; noon to 11 p.m. Feb. 20; and noon to 10 p.m. Feb. 21. More than 300 tattoo artists are set to show off their skills in the convention area and through many contests.

The National Junior Basketball Division 3 boys season got underway with five hard-fought contests. The Lakers, in their matchup with the Kings, were led by Christian Anderson and Dillon Campbell on offense, while Jimmy Nelson controlled the rebounding. The Kings were led by Matt Mello, T.J. Danner and Austin Jones. The Raptors took on the Clippers and were led by Joey Jones, Jamie Hall and Colin Krahe. In the Bulls' matchup with the Heat, Brian Yasokochi and Nicholas Pederson controlled both sides of the court with strong play.

Rick Devereux Southern California used to be known as a factory of churning out professional surfers. Jack Haley, from Sunset Beach. Corky Carroll, from Surfside. Jerricho Poppler, from Long Beach. If you look at the leaderboard of the recent U.S. Open of Surfing, no one in the final rounds of the men's or women's divisions is from Southern California. San Clemente's Brendan White was first and Colin McPhilips did finish second in the longboard division, though.

The Orange County Restaurant Assn.’s Happy Hour week bar-joke contest’s winners are ... drum roll, please ... John Chapman, C. Howie and William A. O’Conner. Oddly enough, they all have one thing in common: They’re pithy. Punchline: The jokes, that is. “What’s red and smells like blue paint? Red paint.” (from Chapman); “A seal walked into a club...” (Howie); “Two men walk into a bar ... the second guy should have seen it coming.

CORONA DEL MAR — Jenny Flake can't wait for the holidays. "This is the baking season," she said. "I love it. " For Flake, the baking and cooking season is pretty much year-round. When she's not inventing recipes in her home kitchen, or winning national cooking and baking contests, Flake writes the Picky Palate blog, which includes recipes as well as news about her food-blogging travels. Flake, a former dental hygienist, describes herself as a self-taught cook who became inspired by television cooking shows.

Jennifer Kho For 57 years, one thing Costa Mesa residents had come to depend on was the Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club Fish Fry. Between 45,000 and 60,000 attendees come to the event each year to get their infusion of cute babies, odd contests and "secret recipe" Icelandic cod. Barring any last-minute changes, this year will mark the first since before the city's incorporation that the event will not take...

The race to create new ways for fans to enjoy interacting with sports continues. It is evocative of the Oklahoma Land Rush, with innovators competing to create the next new niche that delivers an experience that is novel and fun. The 800-pound gorilla in the field is the $1.5 billion fantasy sports market. The number of participating fans continues to explode exponentially. Reports of thousands of fans who participate from their computer at work are an indication of the burgeoning fantasy mania.

John O'Connor is the third O'Connor kid George Larsen has coached in soccer. Larsen guided John's older sisters, Kaylee and Maddie, on the club level with the Newport Beach-based Slammers. John plays for Larsen on the Corona del Mar High boys' team. When asked whether he, Kaylee or Maddie has the best strike, John says he doesn't know. "They're both in college," Larsen says to John, telling him not to worry about his answer. "You won't hear from them. " John never really answers the question, but he does thank his sisters for taking up soccer.

Brandon Fischer may not be the king of the world, but considering his dancing experience, he was happy to settle last year for king of Corona del Mar High School's male faculty. The math teacher was crowned co-champion of the school's first Dancing with the Teachers contest, in which faculty members paired with students to hoof it onstage. Fischer's group got the assignment of lyrical dance, and someone - he's not quite sure whom - decided on the "Titanic" anthem "My Heart Will Go On" for the music.

By Barry Faulkner and This post has been corrected, as noted below. | November 8, 2013

With two teams firing in threes and draining the majority of their shots, including two three-pointers in the final 2.1 seconds, the most glaring miss was the opportunity to begin what may be a landmark UC Irvine men's basketball season with a victory Friday night. The Anteaters, who led for most of the contest and never trailed by more than one, fell to visiting Fresno State, 98-97, when senior guard Allen Huddleston banked in a leaning, 42-foot three-pointer just before the buzzer in overtime, the last of 25 combined three-pointers in the nonconference season opener for both teams at the Bren Events Center.

In a country where a good portion of the people have gambled at least once in their lives, it's normal to hear people say, "If I won the lottery, I would buy .... " How far is this country willing to take its gambling obsession, and is it OK to hold in vitro fertilization giveaways, especially with the promotion, "Win a free baby"? To conceive a baby through IVF already is a gamble. According to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (SART), which contains national data on fertility success rates, the highest rate of pregnancy from IVF cycles is 46.2%.

Essays, videos and photographs from more than 200 Costa Mesa students proved there's no place quite like home for the city's youth. Participants, some as young as fifth graders, participated in the fourth-annual contest by the Costa Mesa Library Foundation. Students responded to this year's prompt, "My Favorite Place in Costa Mesa," with essays, photos and videos featuring areas like the city's parks, the O.C. Fair and art and performance venues. The contest is one way to keep the community aware of the need for a new central library and improved library services in the city, foundation President Barbara Steck.

Orange Coast College Athletic Director Michael Sutliff said Wednesday that the sanctions against seven fall sports programs ordered when the California Community College Athletic Assn. placed all OCC athletic programs on probation for the 2013-14 school year, will be carried out, regardless of whether the school's appeal is upheld as soon as late September. After the CCCAA ruled that OCC had violated restrictions regarding practice dates, seven Pirates fall teams involved in those disputed practices were ordered to cancel one contest this season.

If you know me, it's likely not for my level of dexterity. Rewind to Wednesday, when I was tasked with stacking dominoes and Jenga tiles - fast. The white 80-by-120-foot Fun Zone tent, which houses an assortment of games and a stage, was a site of sugar-induced mayhem. The "minute to win it" contest required participants to create vertical piles of blocks. This posed quite a challenge for some younger entrants, seeing as their constructions rose above the tops of their heads.

It's hard to miss a 10-foot high red backpack in the middle of John Wayne Airport, but travelers have an additional incentive to keep an eye out for it. Those who take a picture of someone with the backpack, found in Terminal C between gates 14 and 15 until Aug. 12, can enter to win two tickets to an Angels game, according to a news release. The backpack is the Orange County version of the national "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign, whose message is that the public's help in reporting suspicious items is critical to keeping the community safe, according to the release.

The Newport Beach Public Library Foundation is accepting entries for its annual creative writing contest for high schoolers. The Let your Imagination Run Wild creative writing contest is open to any high school student who has a Newport Beach Library card, according to a news release from the foundation. To enter, students should submit a story no longer than 1,500 words that takes place in or otherwise features a library or library themes. The writer of the winning short story writer will receive $250 and be featured on the foundation's website and in its quarterly publication, "Bookmark.